School of Nursing and Midwifery

Registration

The Nursing & Midwifery Council keeps a list (a register) of qualified nurses and midwives who have passed approved courses. After passing the course, students apply to join this register.

Regulatory body

A group established by Parliament to provide self-regulation of a professional group to protect the public through standards and regulation of education and practice. Examples of regulatory bodies are the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the Health Professions Council and the General Social Care Council.

Pre-registration courses

Courses preparing students for the Diploma or Degree in Nursing or Midwifery and entry onto the Nursing & Midwifery Council register of nurses

Diploma/BSc  &
MNurSci courses

Students can study for a Batchelor of Sciences Degree (BSc) or a Master of Nursing Science Degree (MNurSci), together with the Diploma in Nursing

Programme

A planned organised learning experience with agreed learning outcomes including education and practice with appropriate assessments.

Branch (of Nursing)

Students specialize and register in either adult, child, mental health, or learning disabilities nursing – the ‘branches’

Continuing Professional Development - CPD

Specialist or advanced courses for nurses, midwives, operating department practitioner students who are already qualified and registered healthcare professionals.

Strategic Health Authority

Programmes are usually asked for by Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) or individual healthcare providers and can be used towards an award at a designated level, for example, foundation degree/diploma/ degree/master's etc

Higher Education Institutes (HEIs)

An institution that provides healthcare programmes (structured learning opportunities and support that normally lead to an award) for pre-registration and post-qualifying learning. Healthcare programmes may also be delivered in further education colleges

User and Carer Implementation Group (UCIG)

A group that supports user groups and individuals to raise issues, respond to consultation requests and helps service users and/or carers to be involved in the school business including developing educational programmes within the School of Nursing & Midwifery.

Academic Year

Full year of a university course – usually September to July

Semester

Like a term, but usually two per year

Trimester

Like a term, but usually three per year

Intake

Each time a new course starts with new students.
The Diploma/BSc in Nursing course has two intakes every year. 

Curriculum

The plan of what or how students should learn on a course

Modules

Separate sections that fit together to make a course (chunks of learning)

Common Foundation Programme

First year of pre-registration courses (in Nursing).
Students from all four branches learn together before they start to specialize in their own branches.

Theme

Subjects that appear in lots of different parts or modules of a course, such as communication

Practice placements

Student nurses spend half their course time in practice placements in settings such as hospitals, residential care, doctors’ surgeries, schools, other places where nurses work, and visiting people at home.

Inter-disciplinary education

This occurs when two or more professions learn with, from and about each other to facilitate collaboration in practice. This is often described as ‘Inter-professional education’.

Clinical

The observation, assessment, diagnosis and treatment (including interventions, prescriptions, referring and co-ordination of services) of illness and injury.

Mentor

A working health professional, usually a nurse or midwife, who supports and assesses students in their practice placements

Seminar

Discussion sessions in the classroom – students learn from each other as well as from the tutors

Assessment

Way of checking what students have learnt, such as a test, observation of practical work, essay, exam or presentation

Credits

Points students get for passing courses or parts of courses

Approval

The process for arriving at decisions about the ability of a proposed programme to meet, over time, the requirements of the regulatory bodies, academic awarding bodies, education commissioners and service users.

Competencies & proficiencies

Levels of ability to prove that they are safe. Every nurse/midwife/ODP has to do this to become registered as a healthcare practitioner.

Evidence based practice

Clinical decision-making based on a systematic review of the scientific evidence of the risks, benefits and costs of alternative forms of diagnosis or treatment.

Portfolio

A personal set of different types of evidence that shows what a student has learnt, experienced and achieved

Healthcare Jargon

Allied health professionals (AHP’s) or
Professions Allied to Medicine (PAM’s)

Health practitioners other than doctors and nurses (eg, pharmacists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and laboratory technicians).

Operating Department Practitioners

An ODP is registered with the Health Professions Council and works within the operating theatre with patients of all ages and in a variety of specialities. They have a broad knowledge and skill base, including management and communication skills involved in the assessment, delivery, and evaluation of peri-operative care in three specialist areas of anaesthetics, surgery and recovery.

Carer

A person who provides a substantial amount of care on an unpaid and regular basis to a relative, neighbour or friend who, for reasons of disability, frailty or illness is unable to look after themselves independently.

Client

People with learning difficulties who receive social services may opt to be called ‘clients’ rather than service users. It is recognised that some other individuals who use social services also prefer this term.

Collaboration

A partnership approach that relies on an open exchange of information. It is dependent on mutual respect, and is aimed at supporting service users to gain some control in decision making.

Consultation

A process of inviting service user comment to inform decision-making processes.

Holistic approach

The consideration of different aspects of health (eg, psychological/emotional, physical, spiritual, community health).

Models of care

An approach for developing service delivery around particular patient /client need (eg, developing service to meet the needs of individuals with diabetes).

Service provider

Organisation or individual that provides direct treatment or support service to the individual and family.

Service user

A person who uses or has used health and support services. May also be referred to as a consumer, client or patient.

Practitioner

A person regulated by a professional registration or
body